Cancer of the prostate is the most prevalent malignancy in adult males, excluding skin cancer, and is an increasingly prevalent health problem in the United States. In 1996, it was estimated that in the United States, 41,400 deaths would result from this disease, indicating that prostate cancer is second only to lung cancer as the most common cause of death in the same population. If diagnosed and treated early, when the cancer is still confined to the prostate, the chance of cure is significantly higher.
Treatment decisions for an individual are linked to the stage of prostate cancer present in that individual. A common classification of the spread of prostate cancer was developed by the American Urological Association (AUA). The AUA classification divides prostate tumors into four stages, A to D. Stage A, microscopic cancer within prostate, is further subdivided into stages A1 and A2. Sub-stage A1 is a well-differentiated cancer confined to one site within the prostate. Treatment is generally observation, radical prostatectomy, or radiation. Sub-stage A2 is a moderately to poorly differentiated cancer at multiple sites within the prostate. Treatment is radical prostatectomy or radiation. Stage B, palpable lump within the prostate, is further subdivided into stages B1 and B2. In sub-stage B1, the cancer forms a small nodule in one lobe of the prostate. In sub-stage B2, the cancer forms large or multiple nodules, or occurs in both lobes of the prostate. Treatment for both sub-stages B1 and B2 is either radical prostatectomy or radiation. Stage C is a large cancer mass involving most or all of the prostate and is further subdivided into two stages. In sub-stage C1, the cancer forms a continuous mass that may have extended beyond the prostate. In sub-stage C2, the cancer forms a continuous mass that invades the surrounding tissue. Treatment for both these sub-stages is radiation with or without drugs. The fourth stage is metastatic cancer and is also subdivided into two stages. In sub-stage D1, the cancer appears in the lymph nodes of the pelvis. In sub-stage D2, the cancer involves tissues beyond lymph nodes. Treatment for both these sub-stages is systemic drugs to address the cancer as well as pain.
However, current prostate cancer staging methods are limited. As many as 50% of prostate cancers initially staged as A2, B, or C are actually stage D, metastatic. Discovery of metastasis is significant because patients with metastatic cancers have a poorer prognosis and require significantly different therapy than those with localized cancers. The five year survival rates for patients with localized and metastatic prostate cancers are 93% and 29%, respectively.
Accordingly, there is a great need for increasingly sensitive methods for the staging of a cancer in a human to determine whether or not such cancer has metastasized and for monitoring the progress of a cancer in a human.
In the present invention, methods are provided for detecting, diagnosing, monitoring, staging and prognosticating cancers, particularly prostate cancer via seven (7) Prostate Specific Genes (PSG). The seven PSGs refer, among other things, to native proteins expressed by the genes comprising the polynucleotide sequences of any of SEQ ID NO: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7. In the alternative, what is meant by the seven PSGs as used herein, means the native mRNAs encoded by the genes comprising any of the polynucleotide sequences of SEQ ID NO: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 or levels of the genes comprising any of the polynucleotide sequences of SEQ ID NO: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7.
Other objects, features, advantages and aspects of the present invention will become apparent to those of skill in the art from the following description. It should be understood, however, that the following description and the specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only. Various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the disclosed invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from reading the following description and from reading the other parts of the present disclosure.